John Cale – The Streets of Laredo from Honi Soit … (1981, out of print)
Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Hoedown from Trilogy (1972)
Robbie Robertson with Leah Hicks-Manning – The Sound Is Fading from Contact From the Underworld of Redboy (1998)
Adam & the Ants – Five Guns West from Prince Charming (1981)
Babe Ruth – The Mexican from First Base (1972)
Wall of Voodoo – Morricone Themes from The Index Masters (2005)
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis – Rider Song from The Proposition [soundtrack] (2005)
Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas – Horseback from Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas (2005)
Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band – Apache from Bongo Rock (1972)
Deborah Harry – Ghost Riders in the Sky from Three Businessmen [soundtrack] (1999, out of print)
Daniel Lanois – Indian Red from For the Beauty of Wynona (1993)
Sparks – This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us from Kimono My House (1974)
You Am I – Gunslingers from Convicts (2006)
Medicine Dream – P’jilasi (World) from Mawio’mi (2000)
Grant Lee Buffalo – Lone Star Song from Mighty Joe Moon (1994)
Roxy Music – Prairie Rose from Country Life (1974)
Chris Whitley – Medicine Wheel from Soft Dangerous Shores (2005)
Hoodoo Gurus – Spaghetti Western from Magnum Cum Louder (1993)
Big and Rich – Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) from Horse of a Different Color (2004)
Ulali – Mahk Jchi (Heartbeat Drum Song) from Music for The Native Americans [soundtrack] (1994)
The Tornados – Ridin’ the Wind from Joe Meek: The Alchemist of Pop (1963)
Penelope Houston – Buffalo Ballet from The Pale Green Girl (2004)

Welcome back.

Are you feeling comfortable? Good. Right about now, you’re sitting casually in your seat, perhaps in a chair staring at the monitor, perhaps bundled up on the couch, wrapped in your Snuggie, your laptop buzzing on your lap with the warmth of its underside providing a pleasant sensation there. Occasionally the hard drive skitters and skates, trying to access some connection inside of this digital field of play.

And it is a field of play, don’t let it fool you otherwise. Take a good long look at the screen, for instance. Sure, your conscious, active mind sees black letters spelling out the very words you’re reading, but let your eyes haze a moment. Don’t think about meaning so much — just see the black squiggles on the expanse of white, amassed like battalions, one paragraph against another, staring each other down, preparing for the moment to bolt in attack, random “s” characters raising their swords against the myriad numbers of “m,” not to mention the machinations of those vowels, so kind to link consonants into those words that spill into your head as you read them but, as we well know, they are Machiavellian, yes they are. Those “A” “I” and “E” shapes poised to kill their counterparts, running headlong with a blood-curdling scream of  “Aiiiieeeeee!!”

You could almost hear that scream as you read it, that “Aiiieeeee…” couldn’t you? It’s amazing the information the brain fills in with the absence of a direct descriptor to clarify it. Take, oh, I don’t know, that voice in your mind as you’re reading. It sounds like your voice, has all the cadence and nuance of your voice and, even, those words you mispronounce in your regular day-to-day speech are mispronounced by the narrator in your mind, the one you think is you — but it’s not you. These are my thoughts, my words, and in truth, at this very moment, it is me who is in your head right now, telling this tale, pulling these strings. Are you wondering perhaps, how long have I been in here?

You should.

Are you feeling comfortable now? Good. Let’s begin.

Metamorphosis by David Eagleman, read by Jeffrey Tambor (2009)

Harvest Moon, Blue Oyster Cult from Heaven Forbid (1998)

Harvest Festival, XTC from Apple Venus Volume 1 (1999)

The Ethics Of Jokes by Garrison Keillor from Horrors! A Prairie Home Companion(1996)

Earth Died Screaming, Tom Waits from Bone Machine (1992)

Prelude, Bernard Herrmann from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Humanity Part II, Ennio Morricone from The Thing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1982)

Through The Mirror, John Carpenter and Alan Howarth from Prince of Darkness (1987)

Fat Albert, Bill Cosby from The Best of Bill Cosby (1969)

Cold Colours, Neil Gaiman from Warning: Contains Language (1995)

The Hearts Filthy Lesson, David Bowie from Outside (1995)

Vampira, The Devin Townsend Band from Synchestra (2006)

Dark Carnival, Resurrection Band from Lament (1995)

Limbo, Rush from Test for Echo (1996)

The Invisible Man, Marillion from Marbles (2004)

…and we saved the best, scariest and spookiest track for last. It’s buried in the cobwebs, inch-depth dust and dark thickness of a dank, humid night. Beware of clicking on it just in case you’re weak of heart or fearful of mind, for it has the power to instigate nothing less than utter madness.

Happy Halloween!

]]> http://popdose.com/the-friday-mixtape-all-souls-edition-10302009/feed/ 4 http://popdose.com/thefriday-mixtape-popdose-staff-edition/ http://popdose.com/thefriday-mixtape-popdose-staff-edition/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:30:05 +0000 Ken Shane http://popdose.com/?p=31063

To paraphrase an old adage: those who can, do, and those who can’t, write. For the last couple of years now, you’ve been good enough to come to our site every Friday and download all the really cool tracks that we’ve selected for the week’s Mixtape. This week we thought we’d change things up a bit. The fact is, a number of Popdose writers are musicians themselves; they can not only write — they can do, too. So we put out a call for songs from our writers, and got a a nice response, and a whole lot of great tunes. The talent level was a surprise even to us.

We’re not sure why, but Editor-In-Chief Jeff Giles has used a couple of different aliases in his music career. Since he’s the top guy, we thought it would only be right to have him bat leadoff. The first three songs are from Jeff, as part of the band Lost Causes, and as a solo artist (under Jeff DeWester). Three songs from our resident Friday Mixtape-ologist, Dw. Dunphy come next; Dw.’s got strong opinions, and some strong songwriting and production skills to go with them. He’s followed by New Music Editor Ken Shane with three songs from his 2004 album, South Ridgeway Avenue.

“How Bad Can It Be?” columnist Jack Feerick was in a Boston folk-punk band called We Saw the Wolf. He contributes a track from the band with a real Decemberists-type feel. The answer? Not bad, not bad at all. By now you know that Anthony Hansen was responsible for the epic two-part post, the Popdose Guide to David Bowie, and his own music is not without ties to Bowie. Here he presents some really cool electronica textures for your perusal. We all know Rob Smith from his Uncle Donnie’s “Unsolicited Career Advice,” and “Death By Power Ballad.” Well, no power ballads here, but Rob gives us three songwriting demos that do what demos are supposed to do: present the songs in the best possible light. In a last minute addition, our go-to jam band guy Ben Wiser came up with what he describes as “pretty noisy,” by a project of his called Aboleth. Hmmm, sounds pretty cool to us. Last, but by no means least, our Podcaster-in-Chief, Dave Lifton, has come up with a cool contribution of his own.

Finally, a very special mystery track is presented for your listening, and laughing, pleasure. And yes, the Popdose staff was involved in this one too.

So there you have it, and here it is. The first Friday Mixtape: Popdose Staff Edition. Hopefully there will be more. Let us know what you think.

Lost Causes – (You’re My) Favorite Waste of Time

Lost Causes – I Could Be Happy Here

Jeff DeWester – Far and Wide

Dw. Dunphy – Secondhand Home Movies

Dw. Dunphy – Your Saturday Sins

Dw. Dunphy – The Death of An American Man

Ken Shane – When I Loved You

Ken Shane – Sacred Heart

Ken Shane – Summer and Smoke

We Saw the Wolf – Between the Lines

Anthony Hansen – Mr. Hack

Anthony Hansen – Tango Between Teardrops

Anthony Hansen – Through the Haze

Rob Smith – Let It All Begin

Rob Smith – Thought I Wished On A Star

Rob Smith – Wedding Anthem

Aboleth – Barzoum III

Dave Lifton – While The World

Mystery Bonus Track

Born on October 16:
Angela Lansbury, “A Little Priest,” from Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979)
Bob Weir, “Looks Like Rain,” from Ace (1972)
Tony Carey, “Where Does It Go,” from Planet P Project’s 1931: Go Out Dancing, Pt. 1 (2005)
Bob Mould, “What You Want It to Be,” from Sugar’s File Under: Easy Listening (1994)
John Mayer, “Try,” from Try! John Mayer Trio Live in Concert (2005)

Born in 1969:
Marilyn Manson, “Coma White,” from Mechanical Animals (1998)
Dave Grohl, “Generator,” from Foo Fighters’ There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999)
Bobby Brown, “My Prerogative,” from Don’t Be Cruel (1988)
Burton C. Bell, “Descent,” from Fear Factory’s Obsolete (1999)
Steven Drozd, “Buggin’,” from the Flaming Lips’ The Soft Bulletin (1999)
Jack Black, “Wonderboy,” from Tenacious D’s self-titled album(2001)
Gwen Stefani, “Simple Kind of Life,” from No Doubt’s Return of Saturn (2000)

Born October 16, 1969:
Wendy Wilson, “Alone,” from Wilson Phillips’s Shadows & Light (1992)

This Friday Mixtape has been brought to you by “Li’l Buzzard” …

This might sound bizarre, but it’s true: when I was in high school, I had the strange feeling I wasn’t going to make it to my 30th birthday. I know a lot of teens, preoccupied with the ever-so-important details of acne, greasy hair, social status, and the constant sense of inadequacy, have felt the same way, as will many more.

When I was a teen we had Ronald Reagan quipping with Gipper-ish glee about starting the bombing run while us paranoid types expected the USSR to vaporize us into nuclear ash as we slept. Now you have the tango dance of Kim Jong-il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, leading, following, and never really telling anyone where they’re going to place that other hand.

Ten years after 30 has come and gone, and I don’t feel radically different. I’ve always had hip trouble — I’ll tell you that story another time — so the creaking and stiffness is rather second nature to me. I’m still open to new music, although I’ll admit I have more fondness for new music from older, familiar artists. Still, that has to be better than endlessly spinning The Best of Haircut 100 and proclaiming the institution of recorded music to be nothing but a cesspool ever since. You think I’m kidding, but I know a half dozen people whose music appreciation ended right after prom night.

In these past ten years I’ve seen an awful lot: the election of the first African-American to the presidency of the United States, the twin towers blown to dust (which I could smell right from my backyard), powerful people falling down the ladder while many average ones fulfilled their personal Horatio Alger stories. I’ve seen loved ones get married and loved ones shake off this mortal coil for good.

So here at the threshold of the big four-oh, I find myself a little more confident about an uncertain future, thankful for the songs, the stories, and the friends I’ve found through this bizarre digital intersection we’ve coined Popdose, and still looking for that hand to hold in the next decade. But it’s going to be good, just you wait and see. If you thought the best was “Love Plus One” and nothing more, hang on — I’m up to fourth gear now.

Special thanks to the Popdose staff for helping me populate this weird yet wonderful mix.

No major theme this week, folks. Next week, on the other hand, will have a theme very close to me, so don’t forget to stop by for that one. Yeah, next week’s mixtape is gonna RAWK, but this week… Eh.

Now that’s some kinda salesmanship right there, y’all.

Amorphis – Shattered Within from Am Universum (2001)

Eddie Izzard – Squeezy Squeezy Things from Definite Article (2003)

Glass Hammer – Longer from Shadowlands (2004)

Joe Walsh – Look At Us Now from Ordinary Average Guy (1991)

Lindsey Buckingham – Did You Miss Me from Gift Of Screws (2008)

Megadeth – A Secret Place from Cryptic Writings (1997)

Mike Birbiglia – Like Fun! from My Secret Public Journal Live (2007)

Roxy Music – Editions Of You from For Your Pleasure (1973)

Symphony X – Communion And The Oracle from V: The New Mythology Suite (2000)

The Afghan Whigs – Faded from Black Love (1996)

Uriah Heep – Sweet Lorraine from The Magician’s Birthday (1972)

ZZ Top – Tush from ZZ Top – Greatest Hits (1992)

The important thing to remember is that I didn’t set out to make this mix as it is.

The initial concept was to pull out the box of CDs I seldom listen to and pull tracks from them. It is not a judgment call as to why the Beasties’ Hello Nasty is down there on the Island of Misfit Toys; I just don’t listen to the album much and, if I have a yen for the Boyz, I go for Ill Communication or Paul’s Boutique. If I am in a really regressive state of mind and nostalgia has me by the nosehairs, out comes A Flock Of Seagulls (which is amazing considering how tiny my nostrils are.)

(Who am I kidding? My nostrils are HUGE.)

There are songs here that I never listen to. The dust on Orgy’s Vapor Transmissionand the Pushmonkey CD are like instant mud – just add water. Some of these tunes are fondly remembered, some barely remembered and still others come from the “what was I thinking” file, but in combination, this constitutes the strangest mix I think I’ve ever achieved and, quite rightly, I’m afraid of it.

Somebody hold me.

A Flock Of Seagulls – Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) from The Best of A Flock of Seagulls (1987)

Beastie Boys – Intergalactic from Hello Nasty (1998)

Eve 6 – Leech from Eve 6 (1998)

Keats – Hollywood Heart from Keats (1984)

Leaves’ Eyes – Elegy from Vinland Saga (2005)

Limblifter – Screwed It Up from Limblifter (1995)

My Little Dog China – Eggshells from Velvis Carnival (1994)

Orgy – Fiction (Dreams In Digital) from Vapor Transmission (2000)

Procol Harum – Bringing Home The Bacon from Grand Hotel (1973)

Pushmonkey – Handslide from Pushmonkey (1998)

Sweet – Burn On The Flame from Strung Up (1975)

T Bone Burnett – The Long Time Now from The Criminal Under My Own Hat (1992)

The Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies – Boogie King from Big Wheel (1999)

Thomas Dolby – Airwaves from The Golden Age of Wireless (1982)

Triumph – Headed For Nowhere from Surveillance (1987)

Feel that tension building in your neck, that stress in the spinal cord that feels just like a piece of rope with the twine extra-wrapped? Feel that chafe of fraying fibers, rest to snap inside there? Let it go, man. Just let it go. You’ll feel all the better for it.

Candlebox – 10000 Horses from Happy Pills (1998)
David Bowie – It Aint Easy from The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust (1972)
Dead Sea Effect – Battlefield I-5 North Commute from Those Of Us About To Die Salute You (2008)
Great Buildings – Heartbreak from Apart from the Crowd (1981)
Michael Knott – Cool from Fluid (1995)
Pete Townshend – White City Fighting from White City (1985)
Sepultura – Roots Bloody Roots from Roots (1996)
Spy Glass Blue – Ignorant Side from Shadows (1997)
Starflyer 59 – Your Company from Leave Here a Stranger (2001)
Talking Heads – The Lady Dont Mind from Little Creatures (1985)
Truck – Coffee In Church from 4X4X4 (2003)
Undercover – The Eyes Of Love from Balance of Power (1990)

Remember that mixtape from last week? One hundred Beatles covers? That thing was EPIC! It was freaking magnificent!

Yup… That was… really something.

Well, then.

Midnight Oil – Under The Overpass from Capricornia (2002)

fun. – Benson Hedges from Aim and Ignite (2009)

The 77s – The Treasure In You from More Miserable Than You’ll Ever Be (1990)

Roland Orzabal – Dandelion from Tomcats Screaming Outside (2001)

Porcupine Tree – Black Dahlia from The Incident (2009)

Velvet Crush – Hold Me Up from Teenage Symphonies to God (1994)

Elton John – Something About The Way You Look Tonight from The Big Picture (1997)

Gin Blossoms – Till I Hear It From You from Outside Looking In: The Best Of Gin Blossoms (1999)

Yngwie Malmsteen – I’m My Own Enemy from Fire & Ice (1992)

Toto – Drag Him To The Roof from Tambu (1996)

The Smithereens – Behind The Wall Of Sleep from Especially for You (1986)

Elvis Costello And The Imposters – American Gangster Time from Momofuku (2008)

The Balls Of France – Message From The Country from Lynne Me Your Ears: A Tribute to the Music of Jeff Lynne (2001)

The Simpsons – What Do I Think Of The Pie? from The Simpsons: Testify (2007)

Well, it’s (almost) the end of Beatles Week, and by now, it’s clear that many of you were just as excited about the remasters and video game as we were — Popdose has broken its own single-day traffic records twice this week — and as sad as we are to see the celebration end, we knew we had to finish our Fab Four tribute in style. And what better way, we ask you, than with a Friday Mixtape of Beatles songs — not the originals, mind you, and not the remasters, but covers done by other artists?

What we didn’t realize when we started assembling our little treat was just how many Beatles covers there are. In the course of a single afternoon, the Popdose staff put its hard drives together and came up with an even 100, and that’s just scratching the surface — but it does make for a pretty damn cool Friday afternoon playlist, doesn’t it?

Because none of us was willing to sit in front of a screen for several hours and build 100 links, we’ve done a couple of things to ease the burden: One, we’ve bundled up the whole compilation into a giant zip file; two, we’ve laid out the whole list here, and randomly selected 18 “singles” that you can grab a la carte.

Take a look, folks. More Beatles covers than you can shake a stick at, and some rather unexpected ones to boot. Enjoy — but be forewarned: in the interest of preserving our servers’ sanity, that big ol’ zip file won’t stay up for long. Get it while you can!

Bruce Springsteen – Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Black Keys – She Said, She Said
Aerosmith – Come Together
Al Green – I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Alison Krauss with Tony Furtado – I Will
Alvin & the Chipmunks – She Loves You
Annie Lennox – Don’t Let Me Down Live Unplugged
Aretha Franklin – Let It Be
Bar-Kays – A Hard Day’s Night
Barry Manilow – The Long And Winding Road
Bee Gees – She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Bee Gees – You Won’t See Me
Big Daddy – A Day in the Life
Billy Bragg – She’s Leaving Home
Billy Joel – I’ll Cry Instead (live)
Billy Preston – Blackbird
Bobby Mcferrin – Blackbird
Bono and Secret Machines – I Am the Walrus
Brady Bunch – Love Me Do
Bryan Ferry – Shes Leaving Home
Chet Atkins – Can’t Buy Me Love
Cornershop – Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flo
Cowboy Mouth – Tomorrow Never Knows
Cristina – Drive My Car Long Version
Dave Matthews – In My Life (live)
David Bowie – Across the Universe
Del McCoury Band – When I’m Sixty Four
Diana Krall For No One
Dionne Farris – Blackbird
Dolly Parton – Help
Dwight Yoakam – Things We Said Today
Elvis Costello – Step Inside Love
Elvis Costello – You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
Elvis Presley – Hey Jude
Frankie Valli – A Day In The Life
George Martin with Celine Dion – Here There and Everywhere
Georgia Satellites – Don’t Pass Me By
Goldie Hawn – A Hard Day’s Night
Gomez – Getting Better
Gomez – Sun King
Gregg Allman – Rain (demo)
Guadalcanal Diary – And Your Bird Can Sing
Harry Nilsson – You Can’t Do That
Helloween – All My Loving
Invisible – Come Together
Jeff Beck – She’s A Woman
Jerry Garcia Band – Dear Prudence
Jimi Hendrix – Day Tripper
Joan Baez – Eleanor Rigby
Joe Jackson – Eleanor Rigby
Johnny Cash – In My Life
Keith Moon – When I’m Sixty-Four
Kim Weston – Eleanor Rigby
Low – Nowhere Man
Luca Columbo – Hey Jude
Lulu – Day Tripper
Lynden David Hall – All You Need Is Love
Marianne Faithfull – Yesterday
Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs – Beware Of Darkness
Motley Crue – Helter Skelter
Otis Redding – Day Tripper (live)
Overwhelming Colorfast – She Said, She Said
Ozzy Osbourne – In My Life
Paul Weller – Sexy Sadie
Pearl Jam – I’ve Got A Feeling
Peter Gabriel – Strawberry Fields Forever
Phil Collins – Tomorrow Never Knows
PM Dawn – Norwegian Wood (The Bird Has Flown)
Ramsey Lewis – A Hard Day’s Night
Ramsey Lewis – Day Tripper
Ramsey Lewis – Dear Prudence
Rickie Lee Jones – For No One
Rod Stewart – Get Back
Rolling Stones – I Wanna Be Your Man
Rosanne Cash – I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party
Roy Wood – Lovely Rita
Roy Wood – Polythene Pam
Sacred Rite – Eleanor Rigby
Sam Phillips – I Wanna Be Your Man
Santo & Johnny – And I Love Her
Sheryl Crow – Mother Nature’s Son
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Helter Skelter
Sufjan Stevens – What Goes On
Temptations – Hey Jude
The Breeders – Happiness Is A Warm Gun
The Brothers Johnson – Hey Jude
The Feelies – Everybody’s Got Something To Hide
The Flying Lizards – Money That’s What I Want
The Pink Fairies – Tomorrow Never Knows
The Supremes – Come Together
The Swingle Singers – Strawberry Fields Forever
Tim Curry – I Will
Tom Jones – Hey Jude
Tommy Emmanuel – Beatles Medley
Type O Negative – Day Tripper Medley
U2 – Helter Skelter (Live)
William Shatner – Spleen Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Wilson Pickett – Hey Jude
XTC – Strawberry Fields Forever
Yo-Yo Ma and James Taylor – Here Comes The Sun

Last week marked the final edition of Tom Werman’s run on our Producers column and, in the course of his finale, he mentioned a special mixtape disc he made for his family and friends. Many readers replied wanting to know which songs he chose as his most indicative productions, the work he was most proud of. We’re hoping maybe to get Tom’s input for a future Friday Mixtape based on those requests.

But overall, it’s not a bad idea, is it? A mix themed not so much on a topic, artist or concept, but on the producer involved in the project gives insight to that producer’s choices, inclinations and “sound” and there hasn’t been a producer of recent time as prodigious as Brendan O’Brien.

His first high-profile job came with Stone Temple Pilots’ debut disc Core. After that he became Pearl Jam’s de-facto producer for life, starting with Vs., their second offering. He also mixed The Jayhawks’ Hollywood Town Hall and Soundgarden’s Superunknown. Recently he has found himself behind the boards for Mastodon and Bruce Springsteen. Music fans are mixed on O’Brien, some believing he’s the quintessential producer of the ’90s into today, while others are put off by his signature ‘dry’ sound, lacking reverb and sparkle. This miniature capsule of a very small part of his output serves as an opportunity to decide for yourself.

AC/DC – Anything Goes from Black Ice (2008)

Ben Folds Five – Air from Godzilla: The Album (1998)

Bruce Springsteen – Worlds Apart from The Rising (2002)

Incubus – Talk Shows On Mute from A Crow Left of the Murder (2004)

King’s X – Cigarettes from Dogman (1994)

Mastodon – Oblivion from Crack the Skye (2009)

Matthew Sweet – We’re The Same from 100% Fun (1995)

Michael Penn – All That That Implies from Resigned (1997)

Neil Young – Scenery from Mirror Ball (1995)

Pearl Jam – Rearviewmirror from Vs. (1993)

Stone Temple Pilots – Wonderful from Shangri-La Dee Da (2001)